Death By Bourbon by Abigail Keam Read Free Book Online Page B

wheel around the couch and there were men standing between
     the couch and Addison on the floor. I couldn’t tell who it was until I pushed through
     the group of men.” I paused for a moment. “She must have heard Matt yell to Charles
     in the hallway that Addison was having a fit.”
    Meriah shook her lovely head. “No one heard exactly what Matt said. It was muffled.
     We just heard the commotion and Doreen certainly didn’t react to anything until we
     get to the library door.”
    “Wait a minute,” I said correcting myself. “Matt didn’t mention Addison’s name. He
     just said someone was having a fit, so Doreen couldn’t possibly have known he was
     talking about Addison.”
    “Precisely,” Meriah continued. “So Doreen pushes through, starts calling Addison’s
     name before she could see who it was. It’s the timing of her awareness of Addison
     that is off.”
    “Maybe she stood on her tiptoes. Maybe she stood on a chair to look into the room.”
    Meriah shook her head. “I tried standing on my tiptoes and I could not see. And there
     was no chair out of place in the hallway that I noticed.” Meriah stepped into the
     room and began pacing. “And all that crying and moaning and carrying on when Addison
     died. I don’t buy it. Most women would have been weeping for sure but they also would
     have been in shock . . . in disbelief.”
    “They would have wanted someone to comfort them, like a family member.”
    Meriah snapped her manicured nails. “Quite right. She didn’t ask anyone to call her
     daughter. Matt just took that upon himself.”
    “And she didn’t go to the hospital that night either.”
    “Well, she was sedated.”
    “Was she? I saw her in the upstairs hallway as I was leaving. She was wide-awake,
     watching from above. And I talked to Amelia just a moment ago. She told me that she
     found a white pill in the heat register this morning when she was tidying up.”
    “A sedative pill?”
    “She confirms that the doctor gave her a pill, not a shot, and that Doreen must have
     hidden it in the closed heat register when no one was looking.”
    “Does she have the pill?”
    I shook my head. “She has emptied the vacuum cleaner. It hadn’t occurred to her that
     the police might be interested in this pill.”
    “Or perhaps that June gave the order to destroy any unusual contents in that room.
     She doesn’t want the coroner to rule anything but accidental.”
    We both were quiet, preoccupied with our own thoughts, until Meriah spoke. “You have
     contacts in the police department. Why don’t you give them a call?”
    The thought of getting involved in another murder was overwhelming. I was still worn
     out like an old dishrag. “Sorry. I have other fish in the frying pan. You will have
     to go solo on this.” I wheeled towards the door before turning. “Meriah, I do wish
     you and Matt well. I hope you find happiness.”
    Meriah’s fine features softened. “Thank you, Josiah. I wish you well too.”
    I nodded and left, harboring no ill feeling against Meriah anymore. She may have been
     beautiful and rich but she was alone, wary of the future and doubtful of her ability
     to meet it head on. She needed backup, which was Matt.
    I knew what it was to be alone. After Brannon left me, so did most of our friends.
     Only Matt and Lady Elsmere had stuck by me. She once left a fifty thousand dollar
     check on my Nakashima table to “tide me over.” I never cashed it, but it’s in my drawer
     of keepsakes.
    Things went into a tailspin after Brannon left. He refused to give me money, instead
     wanting me to sell the Butterfly. With co-workers and students cruelly snickering
     about Brannon’s affair at work and meetings, I retired from teaching, feeling humiliated.
     Then I found Richard Pidgeon dead in one of my hives . . . you know the rest.
    Yes, I harbored no resentment against Meriah. How could I? She was afraid, just like
     me.

9
    I was getting used to my Velcro splint